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How To Plan A Code4LibCon

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== General Timeline Process ==* Apply to be a host* Consider your action plan** Identify your venues for both the conference and the hotel (if different). This is critical, as you'll want to get some cost estimates from each. When we hosted in Corvallis, the campus provided the conference space at a low cost, and this made running the conference much more affordable. When we hosted the conference in Portland, and held everything in a single hotel, we had to acquire 2x the amount of sponsorship than what appears to be normal.** Speaking of sponsorship, I believe we average around 20k per year in sponsorships to help run the conference and keep the registration low. Factor this into your budget.** Also, when you get cost estimates, don't forget to include food costs.** WIRELESS: Always an issue it seems. If you are proposing to host the conference on a campus, check with your IT folks about any additional costs. If you are looking at a hotel or other venue, make sure you talk to them about bandwidth and costs. IMHO, the two things that really need to be addressed each year are connectivity and food - everything else generally manages itself in terms of facilities.*** make sure VPN is allowed** See if your institution has a conference planning services group or something similar - if it does, then I highly recommend using them. They'll handle registration, budgeting, contracts, etc, and really make life easy.** Also consider using conference planning services from other entities. In 2013, Chicago used DLF services to handle registration. In 2014, NC used CONCENTRA services for all contract negotiation, fiscal activities, registration, and other conference planning and management services.** Regarding conference hotel, you'll want to make sure that there are blocks of rooms available - not usually too bad an issue in larger towns, but in some college or smaller towns, hotel rooms may be limited.*** prepare the hotel for deluge via web when announcement is made about hotel registration available. We overwhelmed the Seattle hotel in 2012** Remember, your institution is taking the risk of covering any costs not covered by registrations and sponsorships. To this point, I believe the conference has always ended up in the black, but there is always a chance it won't in a given year. Drafting a rough budget before submitting a proposal is critical.
While this is the general chronology of running the conference, it never hurts to plan ahead. Before hosting proposals for the next year are solicited, you can prepare some components of your proposal. Before your proposal is accepted, you can recruit volunteers to serve on committees. In particular, it helps to have at least a few initial people who will form the nucleus of your Local Planning Committee (LPC).
* When the call for next year's host goes out, '''prepare a proposal'''** See [[Successful Code4Lib Conference Proposals]] from prior years** '''Identify venues''' for both the conference and the hotel (if different).** '''Prepare cost estimates'''. The primary factors are:*** Lodging (hotels) - see if hotels offer discounted room block quotes*** Venues (conference, workshop, reception, other activities)*** Catering*** Wireless: If you are proposing to host the conference on a campus, check with your IT folks about any additional costs. If you look at a hotel or other venue, make sure you talk to them about bandwidth and costs.*** Do you have organizational relationships which might ensure extra sponsorships? If so, factor in that this might reduce the registration cost. For instance, when we were at the Library of Congress in 2018, they were also [https://2018.code4lib.org/sponsors/ our largest sponsor].*** You can reference data from previous years to estimate minimums and maximums.** '''Use our conference planner (CONCENTRA)'''*** Since 2014 in NC, Code4lib has contracted with [https://www.concentra-cms.com CONCENTRA] to help manage and plan the conference. Their expertise is invaluable. You can ask them questions while preparing your proposal. CONCENTRA knows Code4Lib and our unique structure and well as how to plan various aspects of conferences (hotel room block, catering, bus to reception, etc.). Look for Jennifer Cummings in Slack or use their site's contact link.*** See if your institution has a conference planning services group or something similar - if so, they can also be very helpful and will know more about campus spaces and costs (e.g. if there are free rooms to use for pre-conferences).* Get approved by the communityand start planning** Receive access to the Code4Lib Conference Drive folders with information from prior years** Construct a planning timeline (see templates in Drive)** Find a hotel, negotiate and sign a contract with them. CONCENTRA does this but this [[Sample RFI]]is still a useful reference; '''note the WiFi requirements'''* Invite * Put out a call for committee volunteers (on the community to help with listserv, in Slack)* Have a timeline'''Put on an amazing conference!''' If you get this far, you have survived the worst part.*[[Useful information from 2012]]The final duties of LPC are putting out the call for next year's proposals and writing up reflections.
== Location ==
== Important Public Resources ==* Past calls for host sites: [http://code4lib.org/node/275 2010] - * [http://dewey.library.nd.edu/mailing-lists/code4lib/ Code4Lib listserv]* [http://groupshas been hosted on university campuses and also located purely in hotels.google.com/group/code4libcon Code4LibCon listserv]* Sponsorship info (public)* [http://code4lib.org/logo/ Logos]* [http://code4lib.org/content/template-code4lib-20xx Template for the conference page on the main Code4Lib website] - This page is only visible Campus facilities tend to those who have a code4libbe more affordable, but housing can be scattered and challenging.org account. Once a host has been selected, please copy the template to a new page for that conference yearHotels are more expensive but cohesive.
== Important Private Resources ==* Code4LibCon-hostsite listserv* Budgets from previous If your campus or town has a conference center, that is a logical starting point. Large hotels are also an option. In recent years* Sponsorship info , the conference has been smaller (privatea little over 200 attendees). If you are unsure how many attendees to plan for, look at [[Conference_Financial_History_At_A_Glance|historical attendance]] figures or ask in the code4libcon channel in Slack. In general, 200-400 attendees is a good range.
== Committee List ==* Book GiveA couple of isolated rooms for the conference but away from the main space are important for both the Community Support Squad to hold private discussions and to private a place of quiet respite for weary conference-Away* Childcare* Documentation* Keynote* Onsite Volunteer* Preconference* [[ProgramCommittee|Program Committee]]* [[ScholarshipCommittee|Gender Diversity & Minority Scholarship Committee]]* Social Activities* [[SponsorshipCommittee|Sponsorship Committee]]* Streaming Video* T-Shirt* Voting* Whatever* Wifi/Electrical/IRC* Duty Officersgoers.
=== Workshops ===
== Book Giveaway Committee ==Responsible for contacting publishers Workshops have been held before and after the conference. They are referred to see as "pre-conferences" or "post-conferences" in planning and publicity materials. There should be space to facilitate 10-20 workshops. It is helpful if they will donate books to the conference so we can raffle them off. Take a look at [[BookRaffle]] for ideasbe located in the same building but not necessary.
Please coordinate with Program committee as to when book raffle These can be class or meeting rooms but should have a projector and ideally a whiteboard. Electricity for attendees is to happen during the conference (as in part it depends on how many things there are to give away)also important.
Will also need to coordinate with sponsorship/host committee about adding logos and what not to the sponsorship list if necessary.=== Reception ===
== T-shirt Committee ==Responsible for organizing A nice reception venue can be appealing to many attendees. In the callpast, votewe have gone to museums, printlibraries, etcand more fun venues. for conference t-shirtsIf Philadelphia, we went to The Mütter Museum. Need In D.C., we went to coordinate with sponsorship committee for what goes on the back Library of the shirtCongress. In Michigan, we went to "fowling" (football bowling).
Example: [[2013 t-shirt design proposals]]A nice reception at a separate location is not strictly necessary. It might be possible to do catering at the conference venue in the evening, for instance.
Propose to add additional restrictions:* should not be a designed used previously (do we have an archive of previous designs somewhere?)* unique (cannot be bought online already)* design should include "code4lib" and conference year in design, city optional=== Transportation ===
== Money==* [[Conference_Financial_History_At_A_Glance]]* private conlist has budget info Consider how folks coming into town will get to their lodging. Is the airport far? Are there free shuttles? Is it possible to get there via a major railway?
== Hotels ==You If lodging and the venue are separate, how will likely have attendees get to convince the conference hotel of the conference size and past room uptake as part of negotiating your contract. They may want venue? Are there shuttles? If we need to contact past conference hotels to get more info about actual uptake.* 2014 -- Raleigh Downtown Sheratonpurchase a bus, how much will it cost?
TODO: put actual room uptake numbers Most years, we pay for a bus to the reception venue, as it tends to be in a chart here. (NB totals are only useful in the context of how many attendees there weredifferent location.)
== Wireless = Local Appeal ===TODO: put actual concurrent connections and bandwidth usage data numbers in a chart here. Note when problems were occurring to give context on whether these numbers were sufficient of insufficient.
== Shortly before Successful proposals in the Conference ==past included local spots that attendees will be interested in: cultural institutions, tourist attractions, book stores, libraries, restaurants, and nightlife. The Social Activities committee plans around these venues. It is nice to have a nighttime location where Game Night can be held (which can be a workshop room).
=== Keynotes ===# Contact speakers There is nothing wrong with doing a conference in advance a location we've been to get before, or in a speaker biolocation that is close to last year's location. In the past, plus Code4Lib tended to ask if they need anythingbounce between the East Coast, arrange airport pickupWest Coast, etcand Midwest, but that is not a requirement and should not dissuade any location from submitting a proposal.
== Committee List ==
 
Each year we copy the prior year's list of committees (see [[:Category:Conference Committees]]) to a new wiki page. If you are looking for information on a committee or new volunteers, prior years can provide some names, but know that not all committees keep their membership on the wiki up to date.
 
Brief descriptions of the primary committees:
 
* Planning (LPC) - primary committee, should have delegates on most others, makes major decisions
* Website - creates and updates the website using a template and data provided by other committees
* Sponsorship - acquires sponsorships to reduce costs
* Keynote - solicits suggestions from community and communicates with keynote candidates
* Pre-conference - plans workshops
* Program - plans posters and conference talks
* Scholarship - solicits diversity scholarship applications and selects candidates
* Community Support Squad (CSS) - enforces the [https://github.com/code4lib/code-of-conduct Code of Conduct]
* T-Shirt - solicits T-Shirt designs
* Social Activities - plans social events at the conference such as Game Night
* Streaming - runs the livestream
* Host Voting - solicits proposals for next year
* Accessibility - consults on physical and digital accessibility, e.g. of venues and the conference websites
 
You will also need on-site volunteers during the conference for tasks like MCing the conference, timing talks, and running microphones for audience questions.
 
Code4Lib is democratic; most committees faced with multiple options (keynote, pre-conference, program, t-shirt, host voting) host community votes to determine some or all of their choices.
 
Some committees are small, even a single person. Some years may have some unique committees not present in the list above. For more information on any particular committee, look in their Drive folder or on the wiki.
 
== Planning ==
 
=== Budgeting ===
 
* [[Conference_Financial_History_At_A_Glance]]
 
=== Wireless ===
 
Historically, Code4Lib has had trouble with wifi bandwidth at venues. Hotels will lie about their wifi. Try to receive assurance that every attendee will be able to simultaneously have 1-2 devices connected to the network. It's best if you are able to visit the venue to verify its network characteristics.
 
It is good if the venue allows VPN traffic as many folks use a work VPN. It's also nice if commonly used ports, like 22 for ssh/git, are usable.
=== Email Boilerplates / templates ===* [[ConferenceOrientationEmail|Quick orientation email for newer folks]] - Send out at least a week in advance before conference...* [[FreenodeIrcConnection|Freenode IRC connection]]** Historically, conference attendees have had trouble maintaining persistent connections to the #code4lib IRC channel. We'd always assumed we were overwhelming the conference facility's Internet connection, but we were actually running into Freenode's IP-based connection limits. Freenode is supportive of the IRC-as-backchannel model, however, and they're happy to work with organizers to raise the connection limit.** Contact the conference facility in advance and see if you can find out what your ''public IP address range'' will be during the conference. Aspiration Tech (If it starts with 10.*, 192.168.*, or 172.16.*, ask again -- those are "private" IP ranges used for connection sharing.an org doing unconference facilitation)** Once you have the IP address or range, send an email to has developed a [mailtohttp:ilines@freenode//facilitation.net ilines@freenodeaspirationtech.net] containing a request to raise the connection limitorg/index. Include conference info, IP range(s), and the expected number of connections. For examplephp?title=Logistics:** I received an automated reply with a ticket number almost instantly, but didn't hear back after that. I sent a quick followup early on the morning of the 22nd, Wireless_Best_Practices great list for assessing and received a response (from a human) letting me know that it had been taken care of. (Follow-up, one year later: Same experience. Immediate automated reply, but with a need to follow up with Freenode staff in the #freenode channel to get the ticket resolved.)** Additional support is available from the helpful volunteer Freenode staff in the #freenode channelnegotiating event wifi].
== At the Conference ==
===KeynotesCode of Conduct ===# Water at LPC may be consulted by the podiumCSS if a Code of Conduct violation occurs. These have sometimes necessitated someone being removed from the conference or an announcement being made from the stage.# Speaker gifts# Dinner plans=== Keynotes ===
=== Timers ===* Sit in the front of the roomSpeaker gifts* Have several peopleSmall honorarium* You may want Offer to use an extra machine* Here's what some of the software looks like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393891356/ (ask Ed Corrado for details)* Dan Chudnov says the best free timer app for OSX is http://www.apimac.com/timer/make dinner plans
=== Lightning Talks ===
* Everybody lines up ahead of time (image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393881044/ )
===PreConf===* Sign up ahead of time on papers in the venue# make sure projector avail for each session* Load slides onto the podium in the break before# whiteboards or reasonable facsimile thereof# everyone wants a power outlet* Everybody lines during the time slot (image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393881044/ )
=== Conference ===
# power - everyone would like to plug in their laptop
# IRC Monitor for podium during speaker changes?
===Photography===* Power - everyone would like to plug in their laptop (and possibly their phone)
* Consider different colored lanyards to articulate personal photography preferences.=== Photography ===
=== Video ===# live stream is awesome# joinCode4Lib uses different colored lanyards to articulate personal photography preferences.me ??# YouTube Live, youtube.com/code4lib
* Green =it's ok to take my picture* Yellow =please ask before taking my picture* Red = Live Blogging don't take my picture === Podium ===Consider doing live blogging for 2014. You will have two people so they can switch off during each section of day# Water at the podium# Provide height adjustable podium, if available.Otherwise:# Provide a stand (apple box?) for presenters who would like to use one === Video ===
=== Ask Anything===* Add to volunteer page to have a moderator or do a general call out* Need mics for people to line up # Videos are streamed at (image: httphttps://www.flickryoutube.com/photos/schwartzray/4393838640/ code4lib# Presenters can opt out of having their likeness recorded and streamed. They may not opt out of having their voice and presentation (i.e. slides, etc.)recorded and streamed.# Presenters must not use unlicensed music in their presentation. Likewise, unlicensed music must not be used between presentations.# Video must be able to work with the house A/V crew and set up the day before the main con begins.# Lighting must be provided for the speakers.
===Book RaffleCalls for Hosting ===* (image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393619144/ with people for context: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4393623802/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4384550127/ ), better if there's a table
=== Flipcharts ===Flipcharts can be useful, but it's important ''To do''': This has not been kept up to decide what to put on the wiki/website date. We should use examples from recent years and what to put on a flipchart:images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schwartzray/4392998501/ http://www.flickrremove older ones.com/photos/47860563@N05/4388430079/
=== Hospitality Suite ===# having a few people with room keys, any of whom might need to be available to open up or close down the room at the beginning or end of the evening# making sure the mess left for cleaning staff is an appropriate mess# making sure the noise made near other hotel guests is an appropriate noise# having someone act as a point person to gather a gratuity for the housekeeping staff maintaining the suiteSee [[:Category:Conference Hosting Proposals]].
{| class== Suggested Timeline =="wikitable"* See [[C4L2010planning]] ! Year of proposal! Text of call! Call issued! Deadline for an example submission! Weeks to submit! Voting start! Voting end! Weeks to vote! Announcement|-|2010* See |[https://docslistserv.googlend.comedu/acgi-bin/ncsuwa?A2=CODE4LIB;tBeDRg;201002051132430800 Code4Lib 2011 Hosting Proposals Solicited]|5 Feb|5 Mar|4 weeks|||||-|2011|[https://listserv.nd.edu/document/d/1Ci_aeXlUOW_1XZ9isvwXfytcgi-FFyO7zsBxesenbFvCPIbin/edit wa?A2=CODE4LIB;R8d%2FBw;20101210153936%2B0000 Code4Lib 2014 planning schedule] planning schedule2012 Call for Host Proposals] for example|10 Dec, including dates for responsibilities for each volunteer committee. Note that we established schedule at the outset by counting 2010|23 Jan (Sun)|6 weeks backwards from the desired conference dates+ 3 days|25 Jan (Tue)|9 Feb (3rd day of conf)|2 weeks + 2 days|10 Feb (last day of conf)|-|2012|[https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=CODE4LIB;9k0n8A;20111201184554%2B0000 Code4Lib 2013 Call for Host Proposals]* Ideal to have program set before registration|1 Dec, including pre2011|22 Jan (Sun)|7 weeks + 4 days|25 Jan (Wed)|8 Feb (3rd day of conf)|2 weeks + 1 day|9 Feb (last day of conf)|-|2013||||||||15 April?|-|2014|[https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=CODE4LIB;f5d2e9cb.1401 Call for proposals to host Code4Lib Conference in 2015]|29 Jan|12 Mar (Wed)|6 weeks + 1 day|14 Mar (Fri)|26 Mar|1 week + 6 days|27 Mar (Thursday; last day of conf)** also allows clarity |-|2015|[https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=CODE4LIB;1b38757a.1501 Call for how many spots are avail for nonproposals to host Code4Lib Conference in 2016]|8 Jan|20 Feb (Fri)|6 weeks + 2 days|23 Feb (Mon)|6 Mar|1 week + 5 days|9 Mar (Mon)|-presenters|2016||19 Jan (Tue)|1 Mar (Tue)|6 weeks|3 Mar (Thu)|15 Mar (Tue)|1 week + 5 days (note conf is Mar 7-10)|16 Mar (Fri)|}
==Further Readings =Calls for Hosting===No one has claimed responsibility for putting out the call and setting the deadline, so for 2014 planning, consider having this task as the host committee, the voting committee, or perhaps the whatever committee.
* 2008:* 2009:* 2010:* 2011: March 5, 2010* 2012:* 2013: Jan 22, 2012* 2014: January 27, 2013* 2015: January 29, 2014* 2016: The most recent year's Lessons Learned (in Drive) are more likely to be relevant. Some of these links are quite old but may still contain valuable insight on problems that have happened over the years.
== Some Suggested Readings ==* [[Code4Lib Conference Lessons Learned]] (from 2014)* [[2017_Lessons_Learned]]* [https://medium.com/@louisrosenfeld/how-to-organize-a-conference-567fb50ccdbd How To Organize a Conference] - Some excellent thoughts on conferences in general.
[[Category: Code4Lib2010]]
[[Category: Code4Lib2011]]
[[Category: Code4Lib2012]]
[[Category: Code4Lib2013]]
[[Category: Code4LibCon Planning]]
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